[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough of Rutherford Council 12-18-1945 by Ord. No. 1464, effective 12-18-1945. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animals — See Ch. 10.
Cat licensing — See Ch. 20A.
Noise from animals — See Ch. 63.
Playgrounds and recreation areas — See Ch. 73.
Feeding of wildlife — See Ch. 107C.
[Amended 8-18-2020 by Ord. No. 3532-20]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings stated herein unless their use in the text of this chapter clearly demonstrates a different meaning. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words used in the plural number include the singular number, and words used in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
DOG
Any dog, bitch or spayed bitch.
IMMEDIATE
The pet solid waste is removed at once, without delay.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
KENNEL
Any establishment wherein or whereon the business of boarding or selling dogs or breeding dogs for sale is carried on, except a pet shop.
OWNER/KEEPER
Any person who shall possess, maintain, house or harbor any pet or otherwise have custody of any pet, whether or not the owner of such pet.
[Amended 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, or political subdivision of this state subject to municipal jurisdiction.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
PET
A domesticated animal (other than a disability-assistance animal) kept for amusement or companionship.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
PET SHOP
Any room or group of rooms, cage or exhibition pen, not part of a kennel, wherein dogs for sale are kept or displayed.
PET SOLID WASTE
Waste matter expelled from the bowels of the pet; excrement, feces.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
POUND
An establishment for the confinement of dogs seized either under the provisions of this chapter or otherwise.
PROPER DISPOSAL
Placement in a designated waste receptacle, or other suitable container, and discarded in a refuse container which is regularly emptied by the municipality or some other refuse collector; or disposal into a system designed to convey domestic sewage for proper treatment and disposal.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
SHELTER
Any establishment where dogs are received, housed and distributed without charge.
[Amended 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915]
Any person who shall own, keep or harbor a dog within the limits of the Borough of Rutherford, which has attained the age of seven months or which possesses a set of permanent teeth, shall apply for and procure from the Chief of Police a license and official metal registration tag for each such dog owned, kept or harbored. Said registration tag shall be securely fastened to a dog collar or harness to be worn by the dog at all times.
[Amended 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915; 5-17-1966 by Ord. No. 1958-66; 1-17-1967 by Ord. No. 1970-67; 2-7-1984 by Ord. No. 2363-84; 12-30-1996 by Ord. No. 2785-96]
A. 
Applications for licensing and registration of dogs shall be made during the month of January of each year. In addition, any dog that has not been previously licensed or registered shall make application during the month that the dog has been inoculated with a rabies vaccine pursuant to the regulations of the Start Department of Health or by June 30 of the year of inoculation, whichever occurs first. The applicant shall pay an annual fee of $7 per year for a license for each neutered or nonneutered dog owned, kept or harbored. If a license tag is misplaced or lost, the Police Department may issue a duplicate license for that particular dog for a fee of $6. The fees shall not be apportioned pro rata.
[Amended 9-14-2004 by Ord. No. 3062-04]
B. 
Applications for licensing of potentially dangerous dogs shall be made annually during the month of January to the Chief of Police. The applicant shall pay a fee of $700 for a license for a potentially dangerous dog. All licenses shall expire annually on January 31.
[Amended 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915]
Each application shall state the breed, sex, age, color and markings of the dog for which license and registration are sought and whether it is of a long- or short-haired variety and also the name, street and post office address of the owner and the person who shall keep or harbor such dog. The information on said application and the registration number issued for the dog shall be recorded on a card record in the office of the Chief of Police and be preserved for a period of at least three years.
No dog, whether licensed or not, shall be permitted to leave the premises of the person who owns, harbors or keeps such dog unless securely held by a leash in the hands of a person able to control said dog.
[Added 3-18-1958 by Ord. No. 1735; amended 5-6-1980 by Ord. No. 2279-80; 9-26-2006 by Ord. No. 3120-06]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons owning, harboring or having the care, custody or control of any dog to permit such dog to soil, defile, urinate on, defecate on or commit any nuisance upon any common thoroughfare, sidewalk, passageway, public street, play area, park or any place where people congregate or walk or upon any public property whatsoever or upon any private property without the permission of the owner of said property.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons owning, harboring or having the care, custody or control of any dog to permit such dog to walk upon or play, roll, or run, on any Rutherford Board of Education property, or to soil, defile, urinate on, defecate on, or commit any nuisance upon any sidewalk, passageway, play area, park or any place owned by the Rutherford Board of Education, including the following properties:
(1) 
Lincoln Avenue, 414 Montross Avenue;
(2) 
Washington School, 89 Wood Street;
(3) 
Union School, 359 Union Avenue;
(4) 
Pierrepont School, 70 East Pierrepont Avenue;
(5) 
Sylvan School, 109 Sylvan Street; and
(6) 
Rutherford High School, 56 Elliot Place.
C. 
The restriction in this § 26-6 shall not apply to that portion of a street lying between the curblines, which portion may be used to curb such dog, provided that such person shall immediately remove all feces deposited by such dog as follows:
(1) 
In no event shall any feces be deposited in any refuse container or any other place or item owned by the Rutherford Board of Education. In no event shall any feces be deposited in sewers or drains, whether storm or sanitary.
(2) 
Feces shall be picked up with a scoop, shovel, broom, tong or other similar implement and be deposited directly into an airtight container, plastic or otherwise, and then subsequently deposited in a container used for the disposal of refuse or by any other method approved by the Board of Health, except as stated in § 26-6C(1) above.
(3) 
All pet owners and keepers are required to immediately and properly dispose of a pet's solid waste deposited on any property, public or private, which property is not owned or possessed by that person.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also retitled Ch. 26 from Dogs and Kennels to Dogs, Pets, Animals and Kennels.
(4) 
Exemptions. Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability-assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose.
[Added 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07]
D. 
Enforcement. The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Police Department and the Health Department of Borough of Rutherford.
[Amended 8-28-2007 by Ord. No. 3140-07; 8-18-2020 by Ord. No. 3532-20]
E. 
Exemptions. Any owner or keeper who requires the use of a disability assistance animal shall be exempt from the provisions of this section while such animal is being used for that purpose.
[Added 8-18-2020 by Ord. No. 3532-20]
The Animal Warden shall take into custody and impound and thereafter destroy or dispose of as provided in this section:
A. 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog which said Warden has reason to believe is a stray dog.
B. 
Any dog off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog without a current registration tag on his collar.
C. 
Any female dog in season off the premises of the owner or of the person keeping or harboring said dog.
[Amended 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915]
If any dog so seized wears a collar or harness having inscribed thereon or attached thereto the name and address of any person, or a registration tag, or the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog is known, the Animal Warden shall immediately notify the office of the Chief of Police in writing, setting forth the full information available. The Chief of Police shall forthwith serve notice upon the person whose address is given on the collar, or on the owner or the person keeping or harboring said dog, if known, a notice in writing stating that the dog has been seized and will be liable to be disposed of or destroyed if not claimed within seven days after the service of the notice.
A notice under this chapter may be served either by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or by leaving it at the person's usual or last known place of abode, or at the address given on the collar, or by forwarding it by post in a prepaid letter addressed to that person at his usual or last known place of abode or to the address given on the collar.
[Amended 5-17-1966 by Ord. No. 1958-66, effective 1-1-1967]
The owner or person entitled to the custody of any dog so seized and impounded may redeem said dog upon making payments for a certificate of release at the office of the Chief of Police in accordance with the following schedule:
A. 
First offense: the sum of $2, plus $1 for each day that the dog has been impounded.
B. 
Second offense: the sum of $3, plus $1 for each day that the dog has been impounded.
C. 
Third and each succeeding offense: the sum of $5, plus $1 for each day that the dog has been impounded.
[Amended 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915]
When any dog so seized has been detained for seven days after notice or for seven days after seizure when information is not available for serving a notice, the Animal Warden may cause the dog to be disposed of or destroyed in a manner causing as little pain as possible and file a written report of such disposal immediately at the office of the Chief of Police.
[Amended 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915]
Any person who keeps or operates or proposes to establish a kennel, pet shop or a shelter shall apply to the office of the Chief of Police for a license entitling him to keep or operate such establishment.
A. 
The application shall describe the premises where the establishment is located or is proposed to be located and the purpose or purposes for which it is to be maintained and shall be accompanied by the written approval of the local health authorities showing compliance with the local and state rules and regulations governing location of and sanitation at such establishments.
B. 
All licenses issued for a kennel, pet shop or shelter shall state the purpose for which the establishment is maintained, and all such licenses shall expire on the last day of January of each year and be subject to revocation by the municipality on recommendations of the State Department of Health or the local Board of Health for failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the State Department or local Board governing the same after the owner has been afforded a hearing by either the State Department or local Board.
The annual license fee for a kennel providing accommodations for 10 or fewer dogs shall be $10; and for more than 10 dogs, $25. The annual license fee for a pet shop shall be $10. No fee shall be charged for a shelter.
[Added 4-22-1964 by Ord. No. 1915]
A. 
License fees and other moneys collected or received under the provisions of this chapter, except registration tag fees, shall be forwarded to the Borough Treasurer within 30 days after collection or receipt and shall be placed in a special account separate from any of the other accounts of the Borough which shall be used for the purpose provided by law.
B. 
The registration tag fee required by law for each dog shall be forwarded within 30 days after collection by the Chief of Police, the official designated by this chapter to license dogs, to the State Department of Health for disposition pursuant to law.
Any dog running at large and acting in a vicious manner or showing signs of rabies may be destroyed by any police officer or Animal Warden without capture and removal to the pound.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Ch. 89, Sanitary Code, §§ 89-54 and 89-56 for additional regulations governing the control and disposal of rabid animals, and Ch. 10, Animals, Article I, Quarantine.
[Amended 8-6-1991 by Ord. No. 2610-91; 5-7-1996 by Ord. No. 2758-96]
Any person who shall interfere with, hinder or molest said Animal Warden or any person or persons in the performance of the duties imposed upon them under this chapter shall be punished by a fine of $50 for each offense.
[Amended 5-7-1996 by Ord. No. 2758-96]
A. 
No vicious dog shall be permitted to leave the premises of the person who owns or harbors it unless securely muzzled as well as held by a leash. Any person who shall suffer or permit any such vicious dog, owned, kept or harbored by him, to go upon the streets or any public place in the Borough of Rutherford or upon any premises other than those owned by the person owning or harboring said dog, unless said dog shall be securely muzzled and held by a leash, shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of $40 for the first offense.
B. 
Any person who shall suffer or permit any such vicious dog owned, kept or harbored by him to go upon the streets or any public place in the Borough of Rutherford or upon any premises other than those owned by the person owning or harboring said dog, unless said dog shall be securely muzzled and held by a leash, shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of $100 for the second and each subsequent offense.
[1]
Editor's Note: For additional muzzling provisions, see Ch. 89, Sanitary Code, § 89-11.
[Amended 8-6-1991 by Ord. No. 2610-91; 5-7-1996 by Ord. No. 2758-96]
Any person found guilty of violating any provisions of this chapter other than those contained in §§ 26-20 and 26-21 herein shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine as listed below, except that, when a person is found guilty of violating any provisions of this chapter other than those contained in §§ 26-20 and 26-21 herein and the involved dog has bitten a person or persons within three days of the violation, the person shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine as listed below in § 26-22C and D respectively:
A. 
For the first offense, a fine of $35.
B. 
For the second and subsequent offense, a fine of $50.
C. 
For the first offense, a fine of $75.
D. 
For the second and each subsequent offense, a fine of $250.
Ordinance No. 54, entitled "An Ordinance to Provide a Public Pound Within the Borough of Rutherford and the Appointment of a Poundmaster Therefor," adopted on June 17, 1889, and Ordinance No. 1389, entitled "An Ordinance to Provide for the Licensing and Regulating of Dogs in the Borough of Rutherford," adopted March 16, 1937, be and they are hereby repealed.
[Amended 8-18-2020 by Ord. No. 3532-20]
Each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase of this chapter is declared to be an independent section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase, and the finding or holding of any such portion of this chapter to be unconstitutional, void, or ineffective for any cause, or reason, shall not affect any other portion of this chapter.